Chicken & Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta Bake

So I’m back in the ‘diff and the student savvy suppers are back with vengeance.  With a big cut in my loan this year it’s looking like I’m going to have to spend less money on food in my 3^rd year, but there’s no way I’m going to let that mean less taste and more unhealthy food on my plate.

This evening I’m bulking up a tasty pasta bake with Mediterranean vegetables and using half the amount of chicken to save money. This meal may take a little longer to cook, but is well worth the wait as it’s filling, full of flavour and has just enough spice. The perfect dish to make the most of the last few moments of summer sun. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• ½ red onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs
• 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
• ½  teaspoon of harissa paste
• ½ chicken stock cube
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 100g brown pasta
• 200g frozen Mediterranean vegetables
• 1 chicken breast, diced

 Method:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Finely chop the onion and cut the red pepper into chunks. On a medium hob fry the onion in a saucepan with a little oil. After about 5 minutes add the red pepper and keep the vegetables moving around the pan with a wooden spoon.

Add the herbs, paprika, harissa, stock cube and chopped tomatoes to the pan and once the mixture starts to bubble turn the heat down to low.

Let the tomato sauce simmer for about 10 minutes then pour into a deep oven dish. Add the dried pasta, frozen veg and chicken in to the dish and then mix well until all the pasta shapes are covered by the sauce.

Place the dish in the oven for 45 minutes. Make sure to take the dish out of the oven about every 15 minutes while it's cooking and give it a good stir to make sure all the pasta is cooking in the sauce. Once the pasta is soft, it’s ready to serve.